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    Iran ready for long-term INSTC cooperation with India on developing Indian Ocean port Chabahar
Beijing backs $5bn Trans-Afghan railroad that would open up transit options for Central Asia, Iran and Russia
 However, as RailFreight.com noted, in reality, there are some technical obstacles. The line will have to be built in a swampy area, “making it imperative to construct multiple bridges and carry out a meticulous and detailed implementation study,” the trade news outlet said.
One project that is nearing completion is the construction of rail line between Rasht and the port of Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea. As things stand, Russia largely uses the Caspian Sea route for sending shipments to Iran. A Banzar Anzali-Rasht rail link would provide a smooth option for loading shipped cargo on to the Iranian railway network. Iranian officials plan to finish the connection in 2023.
The Caspian Sea, however, can be hard to navigate. Russia would clearly prefer a direct rail route to Iran via Azerbaijan for trade flows. Some rail cargo from Russia already reaches Iran on rail, taking a geographically less advantageous route that goes via Turkmenistan.
Iran is ready to sign a long-term contract with India on developing Chabahar port, the sole Iranian oceanic port that is key to realising much of the Indian Ocean trade potential of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
India, which is in the early stages of using INSTC and Chabahar on the Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean), to reach markets including those of Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Russia and Europe, took over the operations of Chabahar port through its India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) and its wholly-owned subsidiary India Ports Global Chabahar Free Zone (IPGCFZ) in December 2018.
Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi expressed Tehran’s intention to form a long-term contractual cooperation during a meeting with visiting Indian Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, in Tehran last week.
Qasemi described India as an “important and big country” that can play an essential role in goods transit.
Sonowal described Chabahar as a trade multiplier that can shorten transit routes and cut transit costs significantly.
The port’s growing potential as a conduit for fast trade between Central, South and even Southeast Asia was yet to be fully tapped, he added, saying Chabahar could one day be recognised as one of the most important ports in the world.
Chabahar’s importance to Russia has grown substantially amid the economic reorientation Moscow is undertaking in the face of Western sanctions brought in in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Since IPGCFZ took over Chabahar operations, the port’s Shahid Beheshti port facilities have handled more than 4.8mn tonnes of bulk cargo, official statistics show. Shipments and trans-shipments from countries, including Russia, Brazil, Thailand, Germany, Ukraine, Oman, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan and the UAE, have passed through Chabahar.
Chabahar is not subject to US sanctions as Washington recognised its importance to the economic development of landlocked Afghanistan.
Beijing stands ready to support the implementation of the $5bn Trans-Afghan railroad that would provide Central Asia with a cargo gateway into Pakistan, opening up cargo export options at the Arabian Sea ports of Karachi and Gwadar, according to China’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong.
The railway would run from Afghanistan’s northern hub of Mazar-i-Sharif, located near the Uzbek and Tajik borders. From there, it would run to Kabul and onwards to Peshawar in Pakistan.
 62 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com
 

















































































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